Stories

Paul Gelbmann, BS coordinates Ramsey County’s Hazardous Waste Program, where his responsibilities focus on working with the Hazardous and Solid Waste Facilities in the County along with leading a major salvage yard initiative. He conducts over 250 RCRA inspections per year. Ramsey County’s approach to regulatory compliance affords collaborative interaction with the industries they regulate. Prior to his position at Ramsey County, Mr. Gelbmann worked at 3M and other Minnesota companies for a few years as a product development chemist. He received his BS in Natural Science from Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota.

Dr. Glenn McClanahan, a seasoned general clinician with a wide variety of training and experience, has M. S. and Ph. D. degrees in clinical psychology. Dr. McClanahan is an Assistant Vice President for the employee assistance program of a major U. S. corporation (top 100) and in private practice. Dr. McClanahan works with couples, individuals, children and adolescents on a variety of clinical problems.

I am a Meteorologist who lives in the state of Minnesota. I live in the city of Hugo, which is about 20 miles north of St. Paul.

I work along with my father,Bruce Watson, who is also a Meteorologist. I guess you could say he is the one who inspired me to become a Meteorologist. I really can't pinpoint a certain storm or weather incident that aroused my interest in the weather. I've always enjoyed it when my father would take me along while he was conducting field studies. Being outdoors and visiting different parts of the state sounded like a lot more fun then going to an office every morning and working behind a desk. Plus with the weather it is something different everyday.

My work history includes working at EarthWatch Communications
from 1993 to July 1998. At EarthWatch I worked in many different
departments from customer service to sales and marketing.

KARE-TV, 1982 to 1993. My duties at KARE included producing the weather segment and forecasting.

I enjoy working on computers and have written several database programs and I've tried my hand at web page building.

Cindy was born and raised in Minnesota, but has always been intrigued by the sultry south. She attributes this curiosity to “the Minnesota winters she endured growing up”.

As a young adult she met her future husband, a native of Jackson, Mississippi, and had her first trip to New Orleans at 20. “ I fell in love with the city”, she says and eventually moved here “ to see how far down the Mississippi river I could live and stay in the continental U.S. I have always lived near the Mississippi river on either one end or the other”, and has a special passion for water.

Her spa interests started as a child, mixing potions consisting of things like talc powder and Dippity-Doo, and slathering them on her face to see what results she had. She also grew up in a retail family as her mother owned her own business, and remembers helping her at the store through high school by stocking the shelves, helping customers and even dressing like a large duck in the spring, to greet the potential customers.

After tiring of her experience in the corporate world, Cindy fell in love with a small spa and store near her home and eventually went to work there. “ I love making a difference in peoples lives by supplying them with tools they can use to improve themselves, and their environment. It certainly helped me, and it feels good to give back”. Having someone leave the store in a better place then when they came in, is always her goal, and it truly can make her day.

Her attention to detail plays an important role in their success as well, and she is a stickler for it. “The spa is direct reflection on who we are, so every detail matters”. This includes the products she buys for the spa. They must be quality, rare, beautiful, with no animal testing involved. Cindy's quiet and thoughtful demeanor allows her to administer change to the store as needed to keep it fresh and new.

Meeting Sandy was “destiny”, she says, and a perfect blend of contrasts. “ I wouldn't want to be in this crazy business with anyone else, and besides, no one can make me laugh quite so hard”! Although they are different, their goal and mission have always been perfectly aligned, and has never varied. Their mission is simple: To provide the client with an experience unlike any other spa experience, bringing them a new found vitality that could only be described as a “breath of fresh air”. Just believe, breathe and receive, and that inner brilliance just glows.

Nora has an extensive background of education, training, research and practice in numerous areas surrounding neurotechnology (since 1994), and, in particular, Neurofeedback. Nora underwent intensive training with EEG Spectrum in 1997 and closely mentored with Dr. Siegfried and Susan Othmer, respected pioneers in the field of neurotherapy. Nora continues diligently to remain abreast of advancements in the field and operates with the newest in Neurofeedback technology and advanced Neurofeedback protocols in her clinical practice.

Nora’s additional background includes assisting in clinical neurofeedback work at “A Chance To Grow” in Minneapolis, MN—a unique state subsidized charter school devoted to working with a challenging variety of learning disorders and other issues utilizing numerous innovative and progressive therapies including dietary intervention and Neurofeedback. She also ran the Midwest office for EEG Spectrum, the world’s largest Neurofeedback organization, assisting with regional training courses, equipment sales, public education, regional professional support and expansion in the Midwest and Canada. In addition, she served as secretary and board member for the non-profit organization, Center For Self Regulation in Minneapolis, MN. Nora is certified as a Neurofeedback Specialist (CNS) via the nationally recognized Neurotherapy and Biofeedback Certification Board.

In the summer of 2000 Nora relocated to the Pacific Northwest where she served as clinical supervisor for one of the busiest and most successful Neurofeedback clinics in the country, The Center For Attention and Learning in Eugene, OR, under the direction of Matthew Fleischman, PhD. There she successfully worked with a very broad variety of disorders, including ADD, learning disabilities, cognitive dysfunction, Asperger’s, autism, OCD, Tourettes, depression, anxiety disorders/panic attacks, bipolar disorder, chemical dependency recovery, RAD, seizure disorders, headaches/migraines, sleep disorders/insomnia, chronic fatigue, hypoglycemia, eating disorders and many others. Nora personally ran 40-50 sessions per week, logging thousands of hours of clinical experience in addition to other responsibilities and duties which included making numerous protocol decisions, overseeing the work of staff technicians and progress of other clients. Nora also offers education and counseling in areas of dietary management and is certified via the Nutritional Therapy Association as a Nutritional Therapist (CNT). She has authored a successful manuscript entitled: “Primal Body—Primal Mind: achieving optimal wellness the way evolution intended” that has received acclaim from clients and professionals alike, including an enthusiastic endorsement from Thom Hartmann, noted author of several books on ADD, including one on permanent exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. for its contribution to medicine. Her book has also received an impressive endorsement from Dr. Mark Steinberg, clinical neuropsychologist, author of “ADD: The 20-Hour Solution” and NBC medical consultant. Nora has served as a paid guest speaker on the subject of Paleolithic nutrition at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, OR as part of their nutrition lecture series. She has also been invited as a guest expert in both nutritional science and neurotherapy on televised and radio interviews.

Nora opened Northwest Neurofeedback in Portland, OR in January of 2003—a practice devoted to self-empowerment through training neurological self-regulation and principle-based dietary education/therapy.